Biblio-alchemy: The Liquid Library of Annalù Boeretto

July 27, 2017

Here at Haute Macabre there’s no such thing as too many books. We each live surrounded by overflowing shelves and stacks of books, old and new, and exist between their covers. But some books aren’t made for reading, they’re made for aesthetic appreciation and today we’re coveting these dynamic book sculptures created by Italian contemporary artist Annalù Boeretto.

Primarily made using epoxy resin, paper, and ink, Boeretto’s books look like treasures, perhaps even escapees, from a magical library. Their pages turned to liquid, they erupt from between their covers, frothing, splashing, and spraying out in every direction. Letters in turn lose their positions and spill out with the flow. As a further result of this biblio-alchemy, fragile objects such as butterflies, flowers, and paper boats appear at the edges of the spray, frozen in the very moment they’re about to break free of or sail away from their respective books.

These impossible tomes bring to mind the curious contents of the Addams Family library. Books which, when opened, release their weather upon the reader so that one basks in the radiant warmth of The Sun Also Rises or looses the fury of Hurricane Irene: Nightmare From Above.

I also can’t help but wonder if Boeretto’s books are partially inspired by her life in Venice, where water is a singularly constant part of life and the threat of flooding ever present.

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